Linda Jones

Linda E. Jones is Professor of Engineering, Vice President and Head of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

She took a B.S. in Chemistry and began her early career in the aerospace industry, designing and fabricating rocket propellants. This experience led her to pursue both her M.S. and Ph.D. at Penn State in the field of Fuel Science. Her research involved the study of composite materials that house and control highly energetic fuels. After completing her Ph.D., she worked in the field of hypervelocity flight and the design and fabrication of lightweight oxidation resistant carbon and ceramic matrix composites. Dr. Jones returned to Penn State joining the Center for Advanced Materials where she was engaged in the NASA Hi-Temp program and the study of the creep behavior of sapphire fiber. Her research interests were tempered only by her desire to return to academia to teach. In 1991, she took an assistant professor position in the department of ceramic engineering at Alfred University. At Alfred University, she rose through the ranks becoming Full Professor and Department Chair of Materials Science and Engineering. During this period, she became increasingly interested in innovative and effective pedagogy particularly as it influences the engagement of women and underrepresented individuals in the study of engineering.

In 2005, Dr. Jones joined the faculty of Smith College as the Rosemary Bradford Hewlett ’40 Professor of Engineering and Director of the Picker Engineering Program. The program is the nation’s only accredited engineering program at an all women’s institution. The position was perfectly suited to her interests in STEM education and desire to increase diversity in STEM disciplines. She advocated for a learner-centered engineering education integrated in a liberal arts educational experience. She took this new program through the process of building the curriculum, faculty and staff and she shepherded an unranked undergraduate program to a national ranking and ABET accreditation.

In 2010, she returned to Alfred University where she is responsible for the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University that is a statutory college of the State University of New York. The College is comprised of the School of Art and Design, the Inamori School of Engineering, Scholes Library, and the Schein-Joseph Museum (and its associated collections). This is an institution that she values because of its unique place in the ceramic arts and ceramic engineering science worlds. The curriculum juxtaposes the arts, sciences and engineering and affords students the opportunity to work in all fields of study. Her work in the College of Ceramics is motivated by her belief that creativity leads to innovation and access to technology and new media informs the arts. Educating both artists and engineers in one educational community using hands on learning as a primary educational tool shapes students uniquely. In addition to her management responsibilities, she is very proud of her role as the advisor for all students seeking a double degree that is the BFA in art and B.S. in engineering.

Her current research focus is the structure-properties relationships of novel forms of carbons and carbides used in energy applications and she continues to study high temperature decomposition behavior of materials including glass. She has 82 publications in these areas and has given over 110 national and international presentations. She has been named the American Carbon Society’s Graffin Lecturer. She serves on the American Carbon Society’s executive board. She is actively involved in the European and Asian Carbon Society. She is a Fellow of The American Ceramic Society. She has edited one book and received 7 Teaching Awards including the State University of New York’s Chancellors Award for Teaching Excellence. In addition, Linda was also recognized by the State of New York as a SUNY Research Scholar for her work on high temperature materials.